Net and Game Cultures Sonja Kangas A-Clinic

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Media studies, youth studies on "game cultures, networlds and mobile lifestyles" Studies/Books - Finnish Youth are Communication Acrobats (2001) - Mariosofia - The Culture of Electronic Games (2002) - Technologizing Youth (2003) - Mobile Entertainment, Mobile Lifestyle (2003)

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND "Voluntary addiction" ICT - ICT world is full of "geeks and nerds" - addicted to play, to chat, to surf for hours every day - addiction can be damaging - "for those geeks" Mobile - Everyone has a mobile phone - addicted to carry it with the 24/7 "anywhere - anytime" - addiction is voluntary and necessary - I am the master" Social presence - addicted to social interactions - "network reputation/ fame" - "I am somebody at the particular internet chat-world"

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Mobile Phone "The mobile phone is not that bad if you get addicted to it. You carry it with you so that you do not waste all of your time to it... if you got it, you will be addicted to it, and you will carry it with you all the time. But when you have a computer, you don't have the computer with you all the time but you are in the computer... sitting in front of it." Boy 16 yrs - Mobile phone is a everyday life survival tool - It is ok to be addicted to it, youth admit the addiction - doesn't create similar "loser feelings" like internet addiction does - mobile phone does not isolate you from the physical, social world - computer addiction mean sitting at home alone in front of the computer

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND The Internet - net is for geeks but also... - net is the main communication channel for many hobbyists (sub-cultures) - at the school discussing about general things, in the net more getting more personal - not only virtual world, the real-life dimension is very important - virtual friends/"lovers" Befriend schema at the net: CHAT >> , ICQ >> SMS >> CALLS >> MEETING

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Gameplay - Games played over the net with friends Social communities: - LAN parties - Game Clans - Internet communication - net fame (vr. "pro gamers" in Korea) - boys lifetime addiction [- girls will be outsiders (from future information communities)] - games as "a gateway" - games as a design method - games as leisure - games as education...

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND "Learning by doing" - self-expression - local user innovations - communities - sub-culture of ICT - users are innovators/ creators Assembly 2003, Ice Stadium, Helsinki

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Other issues of well-being Netiquette Utility value Health risk

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Digital worlds - different attitudes towards net, game or mobile phone addiction >> negative addiction, positive (voluntary) addiction - mobile phone is essential life organizing tool - net widen the social sphere (e.g. Live Action Role Players) - games still more as a subculture - active or interactive instead of reactive (passive) - local use innovations - local user cultures

VTT TECHNICAL RESEARCH CENTRE OF FINLAND Ask for summaries or papers in English about the (Finnish) digital youth cultures: Technical Research Centre of Finland